Joy prodded Briana with the Uzi and growled, “But what does it matter, anyway? Forget my rambling—you’ll be dead soon.”
With that admission, Joy motioned two heavyset crewmembers over as they crouched down at Briana’s feet and began to coil rope around her ankles.
Panicked, Briana followed the line and located the other end fastened to the heavy crate. This could not be happening.
“Joy, don’t let them do this. You’re not a murderer. You weren’t in this for the money.”
Joy snorted and tossed her hair. “Sister, everyone is in it for the money.”
***
“Forty minutes. I can’t do this—I can’t just stand here anymore.”
Naoki paced, one hand spinning aimless gestures in the air, the other in a death clutch of his cell phone.
“I think we should go after them,” Kathy offered quietly.
“What?” The pacing stopped.
“I think we should take one of these motorboats and go after them. We’ve got the cell. They can reach us that way. At least we’ll be doing something.”
Naoki was already shaking his head. “What if Nick needs us on land? What if the damn phone doesn’t get a signal out there, what if—”
“Okay,” Kathy held her hands up. “It was just a suggestion.”
Naoki’s stride resumed, but this time it faltered. A few more steps and he fell still. “Not a bad one, though.” He eyed a rental operation further down shore. “They need a credit card and a driver’s license. I’ve been there before.”
Kathy nodded, following his glance. “Let’s do it.”
***
“This is a research vessel, not an arsenal!”
“I’m perfectly aware of that, but if we go in there unarmed, we’re as good as dead.” Nick stalked the narrow confines of the bridge, and paused to calculate their gain on the slow-moving craft.
Puzzled, he called out, “They’ve put down anchor.”
“I don’t like it, Boss Man.” Keo reined in the cutter.
“Neither do I.”
“HPD said they’re on their way. We should wait.”
Wait? When the difference of a second could mean life or death?
“We’re not waiting,” Nick proclaimed.
He ducked out of the cabin and raised his binoculars. From this distance he could barely distinguish the silhouettes on deck.
A muffled crash from behind made him whirl around. Gripping the doorframe, he lurched inside. “What the—”
Amidst a torrent of deflated life preservers, fish netting, snorkels, and black flippers, Keo peered up at him with a sheepish grin. His puffy hand reached into the melee and emerged with an aluminum cylinder.
“Speargun?”
Nick extended his arms across the chaos to cup Keo’s head in his hands. He stared into the huge dark eyes of a walrus, and in a gruff voice, declared, “I love you, man.”
***
Two shirtless crewmembers groaned with effort, their perspired muscles glistening under the sun. Their wet suits were unzipped and hung open at the torso as they stooped to haul the cargo alongside the balustrade. For every inch the cargo moved, Briana felt the ensuing tug on her ankle. She recoiled and jerked ineffectively at the cuffs. Panic made her clench the rail, but the wrench on her leg was relentless.
Then suddenly it ceased.
The task abandoned, or completed, the crewmen stood erect and eyed the horizon. Muscles bunched and tensed as one man stalked away with an annoyed frown slashing his forehead.
“Where are you going?” Joy hissed at him. She followed his glance. “Ahh, it looks like your man has come for you, Miss Holt.”
Briana’s wild gaze rushed to the water and felt a bout of lightheadedness when she recognized the Inquiry’s surging form. Her eyes slid from that inspiring sight towards the crewmen loading sharpshooters, and bulging automatic weapons. Horrified, she cried out, but her alarm did nothing to sway them.
Nick, no!
In her mind she willed him to turn back. But the methodical approach of the research vessel was undeterred. The deck appeared to be empty as she sought for a way to warn him.
Oh God, please Nick, please turn around.
Anxious tears began to pool behind her eyes. She swiped at them with the back of her arm. A calloused hand landed on her back and exerted a bit of pressure, enough to push her hips up against the railing and threaten her balance.
“I wouldn’t lean too far. You might fall over, and the rope around your foot is just long enough to submerge your head.”
Chavez’s smile was outwardly sympathetic, but his black eyes glinted off the sun to reveal the ice inside. “At least with the dynamite, I’m offering you a speedier death.”
Briana glared at him with morbid fascination. Somehow she managed a level response. “How long have you been out here trolling and dredging in the ocean? Why did you send your little spy-” she cast a suspicious look at Joy as the woman industriously loaded her weapon, “after Naoki?”
“She was bored.”
The look of affront on Joy’s face spurred a low chuckle from Chavez.
“She was growing more and more restless. I don’t know, maybe it was because we weren’t making fast enough progress for her.” His voice turned cold. “I would hate to think it was because she was having second thoughts.”
Under the blazing sun, Briana felt a chill dimple her skin.
“Anyway,” Chavez continued, “I thought it might do us good to get some inside information on the housing development going up. Maybe we could use it as a front. From what I’ve heard—you’ve been accused of the recent tidal disturbances. Too bad we couldn’t pin the loss of sea life on you too.” He read the anger in her eyes. “That was a mistake on our part. Prior to the tuna washing up on shore, no one paid attention to what we were doing out here.”
“Oh, believe me,” she injected, “they were paying attention.”
“Who? Your boyfriend? You? A rather lame cavalry, and you see how it ended up for you. Was it worth sneaking on board last night?” Chavez shrugged. “Probably not. But hindsight is a killer.”
Briana was not about to be badgered by this repulsive man—not when so much was on the line.
“So what are you going to do, kill me? Kill Nick—if you can catch him? What about the police? Oh, right, you’re just going to blow everyone up. Seriously, how juvenile, and how futile.”
Chavez’s icy smile persisted, but the glimmer dropped from his eyes. “I didn’t ask for your opinion. Look at it this way. You’re contributing to history, not to mention my bank account. The explosion I’m planning that will cause your demise is also the last one we need to reach what our sonar indicates is just below the surface.”
“You will destroy the coast. You will destroy marine life—you may even set off a tidal wave.”
“That’s a bit melodramatic, don’t you think?”
Briana watched uneasily as two more unidentified men emerged from the bridge, Uzi’s clutched at the ready. A total of five armed goons lined the deck with Joy included. Chavez was unarmed, but he seemed no less dangerous for that fact.
“Melodramatic—you want melodramatic?”
Not recognizing her own shrill voice—thinking that the throws of insanity had finally claimed her, Briana decided that she had to act now. Recklessly, she dropped to execute a box kick with her right leg, just as she had learned in the martial arts class taken over a year ago. The gesture drew the rope taut, which flogged Joy’s calves and toppled her off balance. In that split-second advantage, Briana reached for the woman’s weapon and cried out with relief when she won the struggle for possession. Alarmed as an arsenal of weaponry converged on her, Briana awkwardly swung the Uzi at Chavez’s chest.
He smiled.
“Careful dear, you might hurt someone.”
“Damn right. Guess who’s first on my list?”
Try as she might to control it, Briana knew they detected the quiver in her grip. Her jaw cle
nched with renewed determination. Thoughts of Nick stabilized her.
“I know your men will shoot me. Heck, I’m about to become an archaeological discovery, isn’t that right?” She sounded borderline psychotic, but it kept them at bay for a moment. “Before any of your goons can get to me, though, I will shoot you. I have nothing to lose.”
A brief flash of uncertainty penetrated Chavez’s glare. He sucked in a deep breath. Were it not for the knee-jerk grip she had on the trigger, he would have tipped his head in assent to the men who lie in wait.
“You’re wasting our time,” he huffed. “Joy, get her gun.”
Joy raised a slim eyebrow. First she glanced at the Uzi in Briana’s hands, and then she sliced a skeptical look back at Chavez.
“Harare,” Chavez boomed.
A soft hiss sliced through the air as one of the crewmembers dropped to the deck, shrieking while he clawed at his thigh. In a split second his mate joined him with a guttural moan of agony. Left to spiral on the polished floor were the discarded weapons that Joy now sprang towards, only to freeze and carefully raise her hands as she watched the figure scale over the rail with a spear gun targeted on her chest.
Nick.
Briana staggered but recovered just in time to raise her weapon and deflect Chavez’s intentions. For a flash she met Nick’s eyes and felt her heart swell at the affection and anxiety witnessed there. His gaze swept the length of her body in search of injuries, and landed dismally on the shackle that bound her in place.
***
Nick forced an encouraging smile on his lips, although they felt numb. In an instant, he summed up the situation and wondered how the hell they were going to get out of this mess. He had debilitated two of the crew, their blood pooling on the deck, where it meandered in rivulets through the cracks. Even as he kicked the discarded weapons overboard, his footprint marred the red trail. Now, two more stood in the ready. Their focus shifted between Briana and him as they cast skeptical glances at their leader.
“Kill them,” Chavez responded to those mute pleas.
Briana jerked her finger and a spray of bullets ricocheted across the deck. Her arms wrenched from the recoil. Instinctively, she clamped her eyes shut as if that simple defense would protect them from stray fire. Deafened by the discharge, everything came to her in echoes.
Joy dropped into a crouch, while the two crewmen vaulted backwards towards safety. Chavez jerked in retreat, his hands caressing his chest, grappling for signs of injury.
It was Nick’s calm voice that pierced the void.
“Briana.”
Her arm felt like it was on fire, and the tremors were nearly uncontrollable. Beyond the ringing in her ears she could hear Nick. Her eyes sought his and fastened onto them along with that wayward smile she had grown to crave.
“I missed you,” he whispered.
For one moment she discounted the fact that thugs surrounded them—that a channel of blood was winding towards her, and that her foot was secured to a crate stocked full of dynamite. For one moment, Briana focused exclusively on Nick’s face when she answered hoarsely.
“I missed you too.”
Chavez recovered and roared at the cronies sitting on their backsides, their automatics resting uselessly in their laps. The moans of the writhing crewmembers now became more intense as Joy cried out. “They need medical attention.”
“Oh shut up. If I had my gun, I’d take care of their medical issues.” Chavez narrowed his eyes on Briana.
“Throw the explosives over.” He waited for his men to respond.
“Uhh-uhh.” Nick jabbed the air with the sharp tip of the spear gun. “Not a good idea. Maybe this won’t kill you—well, it will if I hit an artery—but either way it’s gonna hurt like hell.”
The crewmen seemed to weigh their options. There was the promise of pain at the lethal point of the spear, or the threat of Chavez’s condemnation once this was over. Bleak eyes spilled over their fallen colleagues whose soft moans of misery had died down to muffled whimpers.
Blood rushed to Chavez’s face in a plum explosion as he raged. “Even if we let you just walk away from here, do you think that would be it? Do you honestly believe that we won’t hunt you down? This treasure is much grander than your ridiculous lives. I didn’t come this far and this close to fail now.”
Nick arched an eyebrow and considered Chavez. “Treasure?” he repeated. “Of course it had to be something ridiculous like that. But yes, I honestly believe that you won’t hunt us down. After all, you’ve already had us in your grasp and couldn’t manage to hold on then.”
Continuing in a controlled voice, Nick was nonetheless mindful of Joy’s careful sidesteps. She began to inch closer to Briana, and with each movement, his anxiety mounted.
“Hold it, honey.” He arched the spear tip in her direction and felt the impetus of the crewmembers instantly shift.
“Nick!” The warning slid from Briana’s lips as she spurted a round of bullets into the air. The shock of the noise once again froze the figures in place, though Nick seemed to be the most rattled. He shook his head and flexed his fingers, and then cleared his throat.
“Untie her,” he commanded of Joy.
Joy crossed her arms and gave him a cool look.
“Hey, it’s your choice, but you strike me as a shrewd woman. You know this is over.”
A huff passed over her lips as Joy searched Chavez’s reproachful gaze and acknowledged his negligible dip of the head. Joy focused on the pitiless mouth of the Uzi as she stooped and began efforts on the thick knot.
Gingerly, Briana tested her newfound freedom by rotating her ankle. Even though her restraint had been detached, she remained rooted, paralyzed by the situation. Sensing her turmoil, Nick addressed the remaining crewmembers. “Okay, toss the guns in the water.”
Hesitating, one of the men finally grunted in conformity and heaved the automatic into the air. A splash was heard below. With a harsh expletive, his crewmate mimicked the action.
Nick rolled his shoulder and tried to relax. The situation was gradually falling under his control. All credible threats were being eliminated and Briana was free, standing there anxiously watching him.
Come here, he mouthed.
He saw her eye Joy and Chavez, ensuring that they were contained. Satisfied, she inched closer.
“Well dear, I hate to tell you this,” Nick began softly, “but I got here by swimming.”
A flinch. Slight, but telltale. Her shrug was deceptively casual.
“I pretty much guessed that,” she muttered. “What about them?”
***
Just the thought of sinking into the water was already attacking Briana’s nerves. How absurd. There had been automatic weapons trained on her, and explosives tied to her foot—and still, thoughts of the water made her recoil. A practical dose of reality awakened her as she heard Nick respond.
“Keo’s got them covered. I want you to get a head start,” His voice was serious, his eyes solemn. “Can you do that?”
In other words could she do it on her own, without him by her side? Considering that question, her normal reaction would have been to bristle at the inference, but with Nick she had gone beyond that. She knew how sincere his concern was. She nodded tentatively.
“The explosives? If we leave here now, what’s to stop them from blowing up the ocean floor?” In her periphery she caught Chavez crossing his arms with a baleful smirk on his face.
Nick twisted his wrist and noted the time. “The Coast Guard is on its way, along with the HPD. Naoki is taking care of it.”
“Naoki? He’s okay—” Briana’s shoulders sagged.
“Yes, he and Kathy called the police. Things are under control,” he emphasized.
At the sound of the outboard motor, they both turned in its direction.
No. Things were definitely not under control.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Hazarding a glance off the starboard side, Nick squinted at the craft that hefted into
the air on each crest of a wave. Two slender silhouettes were initially indiscernible, but he caught a shock of black hair on one and pale locks whipping in the wind on the other. He rubbed a hand over his face.
“Briana,” he uttered with resignation. “Your musketeers are here.”
Glancing at Joy and Chavez first to ensure they remained still, Briana approached the rail.
“Naoki.” Her breath rushed in, and then spilled out in a mute curse.
“Nick, don’t let anything happen to them.”
Briana was close to him now. Close enough to touch and he wanted so much to brush his fingers across that sunny hair and pretend that it was just the two of them out here.
A poignant slip of a smile crossed his lips. “I’m not going to let anything happen to any of you.”
It was a bold testimony, but he recognized what was important to him.
With his right arm wrapped tensely around the spear gun, he reached with his left hand and dusted the tips of his fingers under her chin. His perusal was interrupted by movement behind Briana’s shoulder. Chavez shuffled his right foot. In reflex, Nick mechanically raised the tip of the spear, and the Mexican yielded with his arms raised.
“Briana!” Naoki waved his hands over his head as Kathy dove to control the speedboat.
“You know,” Nick stooped slightly to speak in Briana’s ear, “you really need to have a talk with them.”
Briana sighed, but tossed a confident smile over the rail at the couple now bickering for possession of the controls. Softly, she concurred, “I don’t know where they get this insubordination from.”
***
Nick grinned and Briana picked that moment to decide that she was in love with him.
Fifteen minutes later, having survived her scrape with the sea, and now aboard the Inquiry, she found it hard to control her anxiety. Naoki and Kathy’s sympathetic hands were on her, but the grasps were meant to secure rather than comfort. She strained against them, and yelled, “That man is insane. He’ll get himself killed.”
HIGH TIDE Page 17
